Student Notes

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USC College’s Fulbright Scholars

USC has 13 finalists for Fulbright scholarships this year, and seven students already have received acceptance letters. Three USC College students are headed to Mexico, Laos and Thailand.

Jeanette Acosta ’08 of Pasadena, Calif., earned a B.A. in political science with a minor in psychology. She will spend a year in Mexico examining how scholarships influence students’ decisions to pursue education or migration. She is particularly interested in exploring students’ attitudes and behaviors toward continuing their education, employment and migration in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Vanessa Hongsathavij ’09 of Pasadena, Calif., earned a B.A. in American studies and ethnicity, East Asian area studies and political science with a minor in Southeast Asia and its people. She will spend a year in Laos studying how the International Union for Conservation of Nature addresses the interests of three ethnic groups — the Lao, Yoane and Brao — and how the union’s development plan relates to the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative.

Chelsea Laun ’09 of Columbia, Mo., received her B.A. in English and communication in May. She will spend a year as an English teaching assistant in Thailand. Laun also plans to conduct volunteer work focusing on the Burmese refugee crisis in Thailand and study how urban and rural settings impact their ability to resettle.

Ronald E. McNair Scholars

Established in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education and named for astronaut and Challenger space shuttle crew member Ronald E. McNair, the program encourages low-income and first-generation college students, and students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups to expand their educational opportunities by enrolling in Ph.D. programs and ultimately pursue academic careers.

Coro Fellow

The Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a full-time, nine month, graduate-level experiential leadership training program that prepares diverse, intelligent and committed individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena.

Sixty-eight fellows are chosen nationally annually through a highly competitive selection process, and this year USC College political science major Max Slavkin ’09 was selected.

University Honors

All ten USC Renaissance Scholar Prize winners recognized at the university’s 126th commencement exercises majored or minored in disciplines within USC College. The prize, which provides $10,000 for post-baccalaureate study, recognizes graduating seniors who excel academically while pursuing two or more majors, or a major and minor, widely separated across the academic spectrum.

The Discovery Scholars program honors students who excel in the classroom while demonstrating the ability to create exceptional new scholarship or artistic works. Each year, an exemplary group of students is selected to receive $10,000 Discovery Scholar Prizes and this year four were graduates of the College: Natasha Azad (international relations/economics); Matthew Brennan (history/cinema-television); Naira Kuzmich (English/gender studies); Noelle Stiles (biophysics/ neuroscience).

The Global Scholars program recognizes undergraduates who have excelled in their studies both at home and abroad. Those selected as Global Scholar Prize winners receive $10,000 awards to be applied toward graduate study. This year Nicole Hummel (international relations/ cinema-television) and Sarah Malachowsky (international relations/human rights) earned this distinction.

Lewina Lee, (B.A., psychology and international relations, ’03) a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology (aging) in the College, received the Rockwell Dennis Hunt Award for her academic achievements, her embodiment of the university’s values and mission, and her continuing commitment to representing the university with honor as an alumna.